Practice Areas Overview
adoption
Adoption is the legal process whereby adults who are not the natural parents of a child, undertake the role of parents and seek to lawfully establish the parent-child relationship. Upon granting of the adoption, the adoptive parents and the child are “entitled to all the rights and privileges and subject to all the obligations of a child born to such adoptive parents in lawful wedlock,” Fla. Stat. §63.032(2). A child becomes available for adoption after termination of parental rights.
Dependency
Dependency actions are civil actions brought against a parent or caregiver due to allegations of child abuse, abandonment, and/or neglect. The action is typically initiated by the Florida Department of Children and Families after receiving and investigating allegations reported to the Florida Abuse Hotline.
Temporary Custody By Extended Family
Temporary Relative Custody is a civil action whereby a relative who has undertaken the custody and care of a minor child seeks a court order granting the temporary authority to legally care for the child. The relative must be related to the parent of the child within the third degree of consanguinity by blood or marriage, a stepparent, or qualify as “fictive kin”.
paternity
Paternity actions involve the determination of paternity when a child is born out of wedlock and paternity has not been established by law or otherwise. The action typically addresses parental responsibility, time sharing, child support, and attorney fee issues.
dissolution of marriage
Dissolution of Marriage is the term used under Florida law for what is commonly referred to as a “divorce”, and the action results in legally dissolving the bonds of marriage and other relief. Such actions can vary from a simplified dissolution of marriage to more complex divorces which include parenting issues, division of assets and liabilities, support issues, and attorney fees.